I patted the couch next to me, inviting her over to sit.
“Guys, do you feel like you just grew five inches?” Shawn asked, sliding into the recliner.
Adam wasn’t speaking. He wasn’t even looking at me. He kept glancing at Nadine and giving her little hints of a smile, but I sensed something was on his mind. The only trouble was, I just couldn’t see what he was thinking. I looked at Shawn and he shrugged.
Was he having the same problem?
“Kim, what kind of movies do you like?” I asked, eyeballing the huge flat-screen TV mounted to the wall.
“I’m not really picky when it comes to movies. I like just about everything, I guess.”
The suspense was killing me. I really wanted to know what this girl’s secret was. I couldn’t get what I had heard out of my head. She had something that she wanted to tell me but she was too scared to.
“I say that, since we are in for the night and we have jammies and food on the way, we should just relax and watch a super scary movie.” I smiled when everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind.
“We could…,” said Nadine, reluctantly, “…or why not a romantic comedy.”
Shawn groaned. “Horror sounds great to me.”
“I agree horror will work,” Aaron said, winking at me.
If he thought I was one of those girls who got scared easy he was sadly mistaken.
Adam looked at me finally and shrugged. “Yeah, I can dig a good scary movie.” He forced a smile but his eyes said he wasn’t happy with me still.
Kim looped her arm with mine. “Dawn, can you come with me to the snack machine. I saw one downstairs. I’m dying for a bag of Lay’s.”
Shawn smiled at the two of us and nodded. I got up with Kim, kissed Aaron on the cheek and walked out the door. When we arrived at the elevator she stopped me. I could see her becoming increasingly nervous as she looked at me.
“I know this is going to sound stupid,” she started. “I know the rumors about you. Those students in your class that you saved... they said you shot fire from your fingertips, white fire.” She shifted uneasily as I looked at her. “I need you to be honest with me.” She pulled me to a quiet spot by the ice machine.
“What is it, Kim?” I asked, warily. I neither denied nor confirmed the truth of the rumors.
She put her hands up in front of her face. “Tell me if this is normal.”
She lifted her hands in the air, contorted like those of a ballerina. The pipes running into the ice machine started to shake, then the ice itself began to tremble. Intrigued, I reached over and opened the door to the machine, upon which the ice flew out and started spinning around her hands.
“You’re water?” I asked in astonishment.
“No, she’s a water Carrier,” Shawn said, coming up behind us.
“That’s amazing!” I said, marveling at the spinning cubes.
I reached my hands up and willed only for heat. As the ice melted Kim was able to mobilize the water into a round ball.
“You’re brilliant!” I said, clapping my hands together and staring at her.
“Well done, Kim,” said Shawn.
Kim blushed.
“She’s a Carrier?” I quizzed Shawn. “What power?”
“White water,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “Second generation, so she’s rather strong.” I don’t know what Shawn did but the water suddenly disappeared, leaving the three of us standing there in awe.
“You were scared to tell me this. Why?” I asked, taking Kim’s hands.
“They were just rumors. You can’t believe everything that you hear,” she said. I could see that my closeness was making her uncomfortable. “Shawn said that I needed to show you, but he didn’t say why. I thought he was mocking me when he asked me to go with him tonight.” She hung her head.
Shawn reached over and lifted her chin. “I would never do anything to mock you. In all my years on this Earth the one thing I have learned is to pay attention to the beautiful things that nobody else seems to notice.” He kissed her briefly on the lips and I thought she was going to faint. My brother the lady charmer, another one of our father’s gifts.
“So it is normal?” she asked, her eyes pleading me to tell her that it was.
“Yes, just as normal as it is for me to possess fire.”
Her shoulders fell and she started to breathe.
“You can’t tell anyone else unless we say it’s okay,” I warned. I looked at Shawn, who nodded.
“Okay,” she agreed.
“There are some bad people out there right now and they will hunt you down,” I said, clasping my hands to her face.
“Okay,” she repeated, her lips pursed.
“Alright, you two had better get downstairs and get those chips before the others start questioning where you are,” said Shawn. “I just said I was stepping out for a second.” He steered us toward the elevator.
“Okay, Mr. Pushy!” I exclaimed, grabbing Kim’s hand and pulling her inside.
“Your brother is a dream,” Kim said when the door closed.
“I like to think of him more as a nightmare. A really bad nightmare you wish you could wake up from, but you can’t,” I joked.
She grinned. When we got to the lobby we were passed by a man with a handful of bags. We gave him a nod as we continued to the vending machine. Kim purchased her chips and instantly tore open the bag and started eating.
“It takes so much out of me when I do that,” she said, stuffing two in her mouth. She offered me some but I politely declined.
“Well, let’s get back up there and have a wonderful evening,” I said as we climbed back into the elevator and ascended to our floor.
When we got back we discovered that not only had our bedclothes arrived but also our food. It smelled amazing. Kim dumped her chips on the counter and ran to sit next to Shawn. I, on the other hand, opted to get out of my dress first so grabbed the bag with my name on it and walked down the hall to the bedroom to change. I struggled to get the zipper of my dress down, but my arms just weren’t long enough to reach it. I was getting irritated. The girls were all eating and here I was trying to pry myself out of this dress and it was winning.
“You need some help?” Aaron asked, coming into the room and shutting the door behind him. I was nervous all of a sudden.
“Yeah, I can’t reach the stupid zipper,” I groaned.
He came up behind me, lifted my hair, and unzipped the back of my dress. The front instantly gave way and fell to my waist. He just stared at me when I turned round, trying to keep the front in place over my strapless bra.
“I hope that it fits,” he said hoarsely.
I don’t know what came over me as I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, letting the dress fall to my waist. His hands felt warm on my back and shivers of pleasure shot up and down my spine. I leaned in and kissed him deeply. For some reason I was putting everything that I could into that kiss.
While my body was in one realm, my mind was in another. It was like looking from the outside in. I didn’t know what I was doing. It was as if the dark side of me had seen an opportunity and gone with it. This was what I wanted, and my body wasn’t rejecting the idea. It was in need, and I was emotionally starving.
I felt Aaron’s fingers on the clasp of my bra and froze when it popped open and fell to the floor. He was kissing my neck and it felt so wonderful my toes were tingling. When he kissed my chest I shuddered, prompting him to laugh seductively. What was happening? He reached back and undid the zipper fully. The dress dropped to the floor.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are?” he asked, pushing me back and looking at me. I blushed instinctively. “My God, I love you! He pressed his lips to mine again. The heat was radiating from my body and I felt like I was on fire.
I moved backwards and he ripped off his jacket and shirt until he was standing in front of me in nothing more than dress pants. His blo
nd hair was hanging in his eyes and his lips were swollen. It had been months since I had let him touch me this way.
Where is the guilt?
I sat down on the bed as he leaned over me, kissing me harder. His hands slid up and down my sides. Before I knew it he was on top of me, pressing me into the bed. His lips were on my neck and I felt the darkness pleading with me to let him touch me just one more time. Just enough to satisfy its need for sin. His soul was already mine, which meant that right now his body was also mine. It wasn’t wrong anymore; he was promised to me. I felt him undoing his belt and his breathing become increasingly heavy. We were both eighteen. This wasn’t wrong, I told myself. It was right. I should just let this happen.
Yes, indeed I should.
“I love you,” he whispered as he kicked his pants to the floor. I smiled in response.
Oh, God, this is happening!
Before I knew it all our clothes were off and he was back on me. Suddenly I felt pain and I gasped. My dark side was cheering now the light was dormant, non-existent, as I gave myself totally to him.
***
We lay together on the bed, my head on Aaron’s chest as he ran his fingers through my hair. Eventually he kissed the top of my head and pulled himself out from under me. I pulled the sheets up to cover myself as he looked down at me with sparkling eyes.
“We’d better get back out there. We’ve been in here for ages,” he said, grabbing a pair of sleep pants from the bag and throwing them on, followed by his white undershirt.
“Yeah,” I agreed as he handed me my nightclothes.
I stood up and pulled on the clothing. The shorts were comfortable but rather short, while the tank top hugged every curve of my body. I reached down and grabbed the strapless bra from the floor, then lifted my shirt to put it back on.
Aaron came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, stroking the smooth skin of my stomach. He started kissing my neck again and I had to fight the overwhelming need to take over once more. I turned round and pecked him on the lips.
“You know, you never cease to amaze me,” he said as I pulled my shirt back down.
“What do you mean?”
“I thought you were avoiding me these last few months. This was very unexpected.” He smiled as he took my hand and led me out of the bedroom and back into the living room.
“Where have you two been?” Shawn asked, with a shit-eating grin on his face. I knew he knew what had just transpired. I could tell by the look in his eye.
“We got caught up talking,” Aaron said lightly, letting my hand go so I could sit down on the floor by my brother. Kim looked over at me with a knowing look on her face, which made me break out into a fit of giggles.
“Where’s Adam?” I asked when I had pulled myself together and had taken a look around the room. Nadine was missing as well.
“They went to bed about thirty minutes ago,” Shawn said.
“Oh,” I said softly.
Aaron put a plate of food in front of me. “Eat up, you need your strength.”
He sat down near me and started devouring his own. The boy had one heck of an appetite.
“They aren’t doing anything,” Shawn whispered, leaning over. “In fact, he’s already asleep and she’s pissed off.” He laughed.
“Are you reading their minds?” I whispered.
“It’s better theirs then his,” he joked, nodding toward Aaron, who remained oblivious of our conversation.
“Why?” I asked, before it hit me. I instantly put my hand to my mouth and giggled.
“You’re my sister. I don’t need to see the images in his head,” he murmured.
“What are you two talking about?” Aaron asked, looking up.
“Nothing, dude,” said Shawn, smacking me. “It’s a sibling thing.”
“Sometimes I hate being an only child,” Aaron grumbled before concentrating upon his food once more.
Chapter Twenty-One: Visitation of a New Species
A couple of hours later Aaron and I were back in the bedroom. Shawn and Kim had passed out on the sofa bed after watching a really bad horror movie. The moment the door closed, Aaron’s lips were on mine and we embarked on a replay of what had happened earlier. I don’t know what time it was that we went to sleep. All I know is that we were knotted in the bedsheets, our bodies pressed close together.
Everything felt okay as I drifted off, with the warmth of the bed, the way Aaron’s arm was draped around me, the smell of his cologne. My body was happy and I felt emotionally recharged. It wasn’t until around five a.m. as I started dreaming that the guilt started to set in.
“Do you still think of me when you’re with him?” Wesley asked, startling me.
“Do what?” I asked innocently.
We were lying on the ground in the field where we had seen each other in a few weeks earlier.
“Aaron. Do you think of me when you’re with him?” he asked again.
I rolled on my side and looked at him. He looked worse than ever. His eyes were almost milky white and his skin color was almost transparent. It was as if I was looking at a ghost. I gasped.
“I did the first time,” I said, reaching over and touching his face. “How can you be here? You look so weak.”
“I’m comatose right now,” he said, sitting up. “She drained me to the point of death and left me. I have a feeling she is going to do the change soon.”
“I won’t let her,” I said, my voice shaking. “I won’t let her change you.”
“Well, I don’t really see any other option, Dawn. You said you were going to come for me weeks ago and yet I do not see you.” He was angry. “Instead, when I summon you I get images of you with Aaron. The last thing I ever wanted to see was the love of my life with another man!”
“You’re with Miranda. I’m sure there is enough of that going on with you, too,” I said dryly.
“Not willingly. I am compelled by her. She owns me. Just like you used to own me. I would do anything for her, but I have never stopped loving you. That right there is why I have been able to keep her off you.”
“Summon?” I queried. “Shawn says that it takes a lot of strength to summon a demon, and even more to summon an angel.”
He looked at the sky and sighed. “She’s already started the change. I’m dying as a human and she will see me reborn as whatever side of the blood I get.”
“You weren’t going to tell me, were you?” I speculated.
“I don’t know what I was going to tell you. I just wanted to see you.” He lay back down next to me and became calmer.
“Where you at now?” I asked.
“Same place as the last time. She likes it here. It’s close enough to people but hidden away for training. You’ve got to get the other two elements. She’s just building this army. Once she feels these newborns are ready she’s going to be coming back to Midvale. I need you to be ready for whatever she throws at you. Once I’m changed I don’t know if I will be able to stop the visions. Or even lie my way out of it.” He groaned and then coughed. “John still wants you. I swear if I have to hear one more time how you are going to be his I’m going to rip his head off and feed it to the newborns.”
“Well, John isn’t going to get me,” I said flatly. “John can go to Hell.”
“Do you love him?” he asked me, suddenly breathless.
“Love who?”
“Aaron.”
“No. He says he loves me but I have yet to say it back to him. Why?”
“You should love him. He’s a good guy. Not as good as Adam.” He laughed. “You know, when I left I thought you would wind up with him. It totally blew my mind when it was Aaron that got that pleasure.”
“Adam’s my best friend,” I said softly.
“I think you need to have a talk with Adam.” He smiled. “I have to go. I feel her trying to rouse my body and I don’t need to be thinking of you when she does.” He leaned over and kissed me
on the cheek. “No matter what happens here, remember that I do love you. Every vision I have seen of you is still strong. Nothing has changed.”
He faded away and I was left lying in the grass alone, looking up at the starless sky.
***
I rolled over and Aaron was gone. I was alone in the bed. I looked up and daylight was coming through the top of the curtains. There was a note on the nightstand. I grabbed it and opened it slowly, afraid it might explode.
Gone to the store to buy you a dress for today. Sorry, I tore your sleep shirt last night. Just stay in bed till I get back.
I smiled to myself and sprawled out on the bed. I felt rejuvenated. My body was happy with me again. I was still laying there staring at the ceiling when the door opened and Aaron walked in. It took me a moment to realize that I had kicked the sheets to the bottom of the bed.
I blushed as he flung himself on me and pinned me to the bed. I laughed as he kissed me playfully. His lips were warm and his kisses sweet. For a moment I thought I could get used to this. I could get used to him loving me.
“I could stay here all day with you.” His eyes gleamed with happiness. “However, it’s check-out time and my dad has already texted me ten times asking where I am.”
“What time is it?” I asked, nipping at his nose.
“It’s ten. Apparently, we were supposed to be up at the crack of dawn according to my dad.” He laughed.
“If your dad thinks that we should have headed home at first light I can just imagine how my mother is right now.” I rolled my eyes.
“Well, aren’t you just rainbows and butterflies this morning?” he said, laughing again as I wrapped my legs around him and stuck my lip out.
“I don’t mean to be grumpy,” I said, pouting.
“You are so hot,” he groaned.
“So are you,” I said, biting his lip.
“No, you are really hot,” he yelped, jumping back. “Let’s get you in the shower.”
He dragged me off the bed and pushed me into the bathroom, where he turned on the cold water and thrust me under it.
Steam rose from my body as the cool water soothed my skin. I had only seen this once before, when Xic had dropped me in the rain outside Adam’s. I had overheated, but I didn’t understand why. How had my temperature risen so much in such a short period of time?
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